Police Charged with Murder, Tampering, in Houston No-Knock Raid

Images from Houston Police Department, source nbcnews.com, 23 August, 2019, combined, cropped and scaled by Dean Weingarten.
Images from Houston Police Department, source nbcnews.com, August 23, 2019

U.S.A.-(Ammoland.com)-Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg has announced felony murder charges for former Sergeant Gerald Goins of Narcotics Squad 15, the Houston Police Department (HPD), in the homicides of Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas. The married couple, who lived in their modest Houston home at 7815 Harding Street for Twenty years, were killed with their dog in a no-knock raid on January 28th. DA Ogg also announced former Houston police officer Steven Bryant has been charged with second-degree tampering of a government document.

Both officers retired two months after the raid, as the investigation into the raid proceeded.

The video of the press conference is 26 minutes long, courtesy of ABC13 Houston.

At every turn of the investigation of the 28 January raid, where the married couple was killed, and four officers wounded, more questions are raised and more disturbing facts uncovered.

We know the no-knock warrant was fraudulent. Both Houston Police Chief Acevedo and District Attorney Ogg acknowledge this fact. We know no significant amount of drugs or cash was found at 7815 Harding Street. We know most of the neighbors did not see anything suspicious and knew Dennis Tuttle as a medically discharged Navy man, and Rhogena Nicholas as a caring, believing Christian wife, who sent a prayer to her mother every day.  The neighbors said the couple kept to themselves, with few visitors. We know the only heroin found in relation to the raid was heroin found in Sgt. Goines Houston Police Department vehicle.

Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas were the victims.
Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas were the victims.

We know it was the police that fired the first shot, killing the couple’s dog, after they broke down the door without warning. Breaking in without warning is the point of a no-knock raid.

In the press conference, delivered with confidence and authority by District Attorney Ogg, several facts were highlighted.

The no-knock warrant for the raid was approved by a municipal judge. No member of the Harris County District Attorney’s office saw or had anything to do with the warrant until after the raid occurred. DA Ogg was careful to make this point early.

The raid was carried out by HPD narcotics squad 15. There were ten members of the squad at the raid.

Sgt. Gerald Goines prepared a tactical plan to be carried out by Goines and the other nine members of squad 15. Goines briefed the squad the white man at the target was known to carry a handgun and there was a large dog that could cause a problem. Four members of the squad were shot, including Goines, who was wounded in the neck, in such a way that he communicated with investigators, in the hospital, by writing.

Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas were both killed with multiple gunshot wounds. Their deaths were homicides. Because their deaths were predicated during the commission of a felony (the fraudulent warrant), former officer Goines is being charged with two counts of felony murder.

DA Ogg stated that two days after the raid, Officer Steven Bryant wrote a supplement to the report. In it, he claimed he had assisted Goines just the day before. He claimed he recovered a bag with heroin. Bryant claimed he recognized the drugs as being purchased by the CI two days before. Ogg says all those claims were false.

The Texas Rangers presented evidence to the District Attorney’s office about who was responsible for the gunshot wounds to the four members of narcotics Squad 15. The findings will be presented to the grand jury being convened by the DA’s office, to investigate the raid. In this extraordinary case, charges were made against former Officer Goines and former officer Bryant, in the interest of the safety of the public and informants, before the grand jury was convened. Both suspects were known to have active passports and access to their retirement money.

As the investigation unfolded, former officer (then Sgt. Goines) claimed a confidential informant made the buy. That informant denied it happened. Then Goines claimed it was a different confidential informant. That informant denied it. It was not stated how many confidential informants Goines claimed made the buy. They all denied it.

  • Goines later admitted there was no confidential informant. He claimed he personally made the drug buy.
  • Goines affirmed that Steve Bryant never identified the drugs.
  • Goines said he could not identify Dennis Tuttle as the person he purchased the drugs from.

The interview was taped. Goines answered in writing.

Former officer Goines has been charged with two counts of felony murder.

Former officer Steven Bryant has been charged with one count of second degree tampering with a government document. The intent of the false entry was to defraud the public.

Both former officers have surrendered to the authorities. Bail has been set at $300,000 for Goines and $50,000 for Bryant.

A Harris County grand jury will investigate this incident and to see if there are further incidents that should be prosecuted. They will determine if any others of the ten members of the raid should be charged.  They will determine if there was a greater, preexisting problem in Houston Narcotics P.D.

  • DA Ogg emphasized this is only the first step of the investigation. There will be an in-depth review of the HPD narcotics division and especially Squad 15. It is not known if more arrests will occur.
  • DA Ogg apologized to the family members of the victims. She wanted them to know how sorry she was that this had happened. She said the investigation is only starting, and a motive for the fraudulent warrant and raid were unknown at this time. She emphasized that, often, the motive is the last thing discovered during an investigation.
  • DA Ogg said the Harding street address came to the Narcotics Squad’s attention because of a telephone call from a neighbor. Rumors had circulated that Rhogena’s mother had made the call. It appears those rumors were false.

At least one confidential informant (CI) has cooperated. DA Ogg may have slipped when she referred to the CI as “she”. That narrows the potential pool of CI candidates, for those wishing to determine her identity.

The DA grand jury investigation will look into many previous cases. Narcotics Squad 15 has ties to 14,000 cases. At minimum, they are reviewing all of approximately 2,000 cases that involve former officer Goines.

No immunity has been granted. No grand jury presentation has yet been made. The investigation is to determine if this was a pattern or a single instance. Other individuals have come forward with complaints about former officer Goines.

Police Chief Acevedo held a press conference shortly after the press conference by DA Ogg. He said the raid was conducted in good faith, that it was only two officers making bad decisions, that there is no evidence of systemic problems in the department. He claimed the case showed the HPD was perfectly capable of investigating itself. The facts seem to contradict that claim.

The forensic investigation of the raid, by the Houston Forensic Science Center, left considerable evidence at the scene, according to an independent forensic investigation commissioned by the family of the victims. The independent investigation occurred in May, about four months after the forensic data collection by the Houston Forensic Science Center (HFSC).  The CEO of the HFSC, Peter Stout, admitted that items might have been missed. From houstonpublicmedia.org:

HPD’s report on the shooting has not been publicly released. A police spokesman declined comment, pending the continuing internal affairs investigation.

The president and CEO of the Houston Forensic Science Center, Peter Stout, told News 88.7 a dozen investigators collected more than 220 items and took more than 2,200 photos and videos.

He said it was a chaotic scene and acknowledges things could have been missed.

“At the time of a scene and even for some time after processing the scene, things that may not be important to the investigation at the time may become important as other information comes in,” Stout said. “Everyone has to look at what are the best things to try and collect at that time.”

From a previous article at Ammoland:

The independent investigators were able to recover a cell phone video of the event. The most provocative evidence claimed from the video, is two shots were fired almost 30 minutes after the raid started. The investigators claim it was shortly after those shots were fired, the police at the scene said that “Both suspects were down”.  The private investigators found evidence that two shots were fired inside the home, into the back wall of the dining room, from very close range, contrary to police versions of the event. In total, the private investigators recovered more than ten bullets from inside the Harding Street house.  From houstoncronicle.com 24 July, 2019: 

The independent review, released in a court filing Thursday, also highlighted the perplexing presence of two bullet holes in an inner room of the home, shot into the wall from inches away but more than four yards from the shootout by the front door.

Taken in conjunction with video footage that appears to have captured the sound of two shots half an hour after the gunbattle, family attorney Mike Doyle argued in a 22-page legal petition that the independent findings raise enough questions to merit further investigation in preparation for a lawsuit.

The independent investigators say they did not find evidence of people inside the house firing toward the outside.

The independent investigators recovered two teeth, they say belonged to Dennis Tuttle, inside the house. The autopsy of Dennis Tuttle should reveal if he was shot in the head and if he was missing teeth as a result.

The independent investigators reported their findings to a judge on July 24, 2019.  It is no coincidence that Harris County District Attorney’s Office investigators and Texas Rangers returned to the 7815 Harding street residence on July 24th to learn more about the incident. From houstonchronicle.com:

The news comes the same day investigators from the DA’s Office and the Texas Rangers returned to the Harding Street residence to gather more evidence six months after the shooting.

In spite of Chief Acevedo’s claim the HPD has shown it can investigate itself, both private investigators hired by the family, and the Harris County DA and the Texas Rangers have been investigating and finding additional, important, evidence. There is the ongoing federal investigation, where a federal grand jury has been empaneled. In late July, it became known that a federal grand jury was investigating the case.

Two Houston police officers testified Wednesday before a federal grand jury regarding the botched drug raid that left two homeowners dead — the first sign that federal prosecutors are pursuing criminal charges in the controversial case.

Houston Police Officers’ Union Vice President Doug Griffith confirmed that the two officers appeared before the grand jury, though their testimony is secret by law. Grand jury investigations can last weeks or months.

That is three investigations independent of the HPD. First, the family commissioned an independent forensic investigation.  Then the Harris County District Attorney’s office’s investigation, who will now impanel a grand jury. They hired ten additional investigators for this purpose.  Third, the parallel investigation, with a federal grand jury, by the federal government. Four independent investigations should be able to reach conclusions about the truth of what happened, and if there have been systemic problems in either Squad 15 or the HPD Narcotics division or HPD as a whole.  Shortcomings of one investigation should be overcome by other investigations.

DA Ogg said there is a potential motive for the incident, but it is too early to tell if it is correct.

Four items stand out. Forgive the indulgence in speculation.

First: The HPD Chief Acevedo and Harris County DA Ogg are independent of each other. Chief Acevedo does not support DA Ogg’s investigation, or he would not claim the HPD had been vindicated in investigating itself.

Second: If former Officer Goines had not been wounded, the heroin found in his HPD vehicle might have been found at the 7815 Harding Street address instead.

Third: How did former officer Bryant know he needed to falsify the record about the raid unless he knew the raid was fraudulent before it happened? If the raid was simply an error, why falsify the document?

Fourth: If former officers Goines and his partner, Bryant, had been able to communicate immediately after the raid (they could not, because Goines was in the hospital and could not talk, due to his wound), it is plausible none of this would have been known. Goines could have conspired with Bryant to convince or pressure a CI to claim they had purchased the drugs. They could have coordinated their story.

Four other members of Squad 15 were hurt, three by gunshot. We do not know if anything was prevented by their hospitalization. With five of ten members of the raid taken out of action, the ability for a potential cover-up was limited.

In the United States, former officer Goines, former officer Bryant, and all members of Squad 15 are due the presumption of innocence before conviction. There may be innocent explanations or mitigating circumstances of which we are currently unaware.  It may be other members of the Squad (the four wounded all had twenty or more years in the Narcotics Division) were simply doing their job, as Chief Acevedo contends.

All members of the Squad should be forbidden to communicate with each other, to prevent collusion or witness intimidation, until the investigations are completed. This should be possible as a condition of their employment in the HPD.

The investigations should reveal much over the next few months.


About Dean Weingarten:Dean Weingarten

Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of constitutional carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and recently retired from the Department of Defense after a 30-year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.

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Donttreadonme

No-knock raids need to be a thing of the past. There should really only be a few exceptions such as kidnapping or something of that nature where it’s known to be 100% factual.

I’ve always been a big supporter of law enforcement, and I still am, however with everyone being connected and having video cameras with them the number of people abusing their authority is finally being exposed. It’s incredibly disheartening when we learn that the corruption is far deeper than we ever imagined.

JMR

The thin blue line and all those good cops protected these officers for so long, leading to an as of now unknown number of wrongly convicted people and at least two deaths as of now.

Will Flatt

Any cop who looks the other way when bad cops do shit, IS NOT A “GOOD” COP. NO EXCEPTIONS!

TexDad

No knock raids are dangerous and stupid. I would rather in the few cases where it actually matters that the criminals go free for a while longer instead of allowing police to endanger our families’ lives and their own by busting into our homes.

TexDad

How many homeowners have shot at police as a direct result of the police busting in? How many homeowners have been shot because they reacted in defense of their home?

No-knocks don’t make anyone safe.

TexDad

Busting into someone’s home unannounced is no different than a felony stop auto?

TexDad

I will agree, since you actually say this, that officer safety seems to be your only focus. I won’t agree that I only care about the rights of accused and convicted felons. This practice obviously gets both occupants and policemen shot. I would prefer neither to happen.

Laddyboy

So says one!

Heed the Call-up

Will, no knock means exactly that – the police do not announce their presence and break-in like any other home invaders. The only difference is that they are typically “legal”, in that they have a judge sign-off on them. We have seen the evidence in this example and numerous others – innocent people, children and babies become victims. There is no need for “no knock” home invasions. Wait until the perp leaves the home, then grab him/her. Or as you suggested, stopping them while they are driving – stop them while they are far way from anyone else, so no… Read more »

TexDad

So you don’t like the term “bust into”, which is exactly what you’re doing (there is a breach, after all), or the term “invasion”, which is exactly what you’re doing (look up the definition). The distinction you’re making is that it’s an invasion that you think is ok. You do like the term “turd” though.

I feel so safe knowing that someone has to think I’m a turd before the police can break into my home endangering my family and themselves.

Rattlerjake

Well we know where you stand, and it is NOT with the Constitution. And your claim that “These houses are usually vacant,rat infested,condemned,drug hoats. The bad people are drug addicts,drug slingers,with firearms,almost always without exception.”, is proven wrong FREQUENTLY! You’re exactly why our country is so corrupt, because you insist on justifying you job over the rights of the people. Every comment you insist that these people are “criminals”, yet this couple wasn’t, and there are hundreds, maybe thousands of these cases every year.

Courageous Lion - Hear Me Roar - Jus Meum Tuebor

Wow Will, you have quite a negative following here! Now go out and be a good little psychopathic TYRANT! And if they outlaw my guns be sure to come and take them…so that I can do what the Founding Fathers did to THEIR redcoat enforcers back in the day. If you are the typical example of “law enforcement” which I believe you are…you’re nothing but the TURDS that you talk down about. TURD.

@CL, Brother, you are 28 days late.

Rattlerjake

And you are EXACTLY why LE has a bad name! It’s obvious that you have never read the Constitution, or you have no comprehension skills.

Rattlerjake

NOT once have you mentioned or shown consideration for innocent homeowners who are attacked in their homes. You are just one of those idiots who think that you have a justification, so to hell with the Bill of Rights, and that because it’s your ‘job”, that you have a right to do it because bureaucrats made a law to call it legal.

Will Flatt

CI’s are almost ALWAYS known criminals who are PAID by the police to snitch on others so the police can justify more arrests. There is no such thing as “reliable” info from CI’s. Do not speak of things for which you have no personal professional experience. All you’re doing is putting your ignorance on display for all to see.

Rattlerjake

“reliable info from CI’s”, that’s like thinking that leftists never lie!

Will Flatt

Necessary only to facilitate TYRANNY. You sir have a slavish and statist mentality.

DanO

Former HPD officer from 1991 to 1998. Now that’s out of the way…how many more of these have to happen before we wake up and realize the medicine is worse than the disease? Anybody else remember the Pedro Oregon shooting in 1998 (about a month or two after I had already resigned)? The War on (some) Drugs has militarized the police. We are Peace Officers, not soldiers. I think ingesting drugs is a pretty bad idea, and generally only foolish people engage in it. But it isn’t the job of the state to incarcerate people for doing stupid things. If… Read more »

Will Flatt

Let’s not forget that all the various “War on (fill in the blank)” are really a war on our liberty, carved up piecemeal. War on Crime / War on Poverty / War on Drugs / War on illiteracy / War on Terrorism / ad nauseam is just The War On YOU.

Rattlerjake

Exactly! These “wars on …” are nothing but unconstitutional justification for government authoritarianism!!

Courageous Lion - Hear Me Roar - Jus Meum Tuebor

War on _____ allows martial law to be utilized. Which is WHY the police are militarized. We are under the martial law flag for how long now? Since the “civil” war? Fact is we actually have a PEACE flag which most folks don’t even realize. Do a search.

Will Flatt

Yep, 25 years ago the militias were teaching people about this. Vertical stripes as seen on the Customs / Civil service flag (just like the USCG flag but without the USCG emblem).

freewill

So much for innocent until proven guilty!..Theres a fourth Amendment for a reason..I highly doubt the home owners in this story were of the Bonnie and Clyde type, and now theyre dead because some body said ..if you have a badge, home invasion is legal!

Chris Mallory

When it all comes out, look for all four cops to have been hit by “friendly fire”. You had one idiot standing in the front yard firing his rifle through a wall with no way to see who or what he was shooting at. Supposedly, Tuttle did not have any GSR on his hands. How you can fire 4-6 rounds out of a .357 revolver and not have GSR on your hands is a mystery.
No knock raids should only be used in the case of an active shooter.

Tionico

“Active shooter” event is a crime in progress, no warrant needed. The no knock trick bag should almost never be allowed. If the coppers really think something bad is going down, they have other ways of staking out and learning the habits/petterns of the target people/place. It is easy enough to observe and learn the daily/weekl patterns of someone’s life. Then wait till they’re gone to their gymn class, history club meeting, Veterans Hall, etc. and bust the door down THEN. No one will be shooting back at you, no one can flush the evidence down the loo, nor observe… Read more »

Chris Mallory

Good, then there is never any reason for a No Knock Warrant.

Nanashi

I hope the prosecutor seeks the death penalty on Goines. Multiple deaths are sufficient, but they could really take a stand and charge him with burglary, as he knew the warrant was invalid and personally executed it.

Nanashi

Would have to be the world’s fastest court if he didn’t premeditate his perjury. He knew when perjuring himself that his actions would result in death, most likely an officer but death non the less.

Will Flatt

He premeditated the act of deprivation of rights under color of law with the use of deadly force, knowing that someone would likely die. If that’s not a capital offense, and a federal one at that, I don’t know what is.

Xaun Loc

Premeditation isn’t a required element in a Felony Murder charge. I don’t know if Texas law provides a death penalty on felony murder, but if the law does allow the death penalty it would be appropriate here.

Given how “premeditation” is normally defined, there is no doubt that the actions here were premeditated even if Goins didn’t intend to murder the victims.

Tionico

falsifying the underlying “facts” for the warrant that enabled the no nock raid is not premeditation? KNOWING they would approach the residence with lethal force already engaged is not premeditation? Driving around with a stash of hard drugs in small bags in the trunk of his car is not premeditation? Lying to his fellow officers assiting him in the raid to set the stage for their over the top disparity of lethal force is not premeditation? Fabricating the “testimony” of the Confidential Informant(s) that never said a word to “justify” the lethal force raid against two known innocents not premeditated?… Read more »

throwedoff

Texas law states that a Capital Murder charge is applicable if a murder occurs during the commission of another felony.

Get Out

The incident had too many holes in it when this story first broke on this site a few months ago. Now we get that an incompetent internal police investigation was done and unprocessed evidence left at the scene. Unfortunately it took family members to hire an independent investigator to uncover the murders of two law abiding citizens by police and get to the truth.

MICHAEL J

Hang everyone involved, innocent people are dead.

mlhtd51

Life For a Life, Sounds Good, Needs To Be SWIFT Without Second Thoughts.

Levelhead

The “no knock” raid is a dangerous activity for both sides. I think the only reason for such is the fear that evidence will be destroyed. Certainly escape is not an issue when a perimeter can easily be established to prevent that. The more drugs, the more reason for a raid, and the more likely is the possibility of armed resistance. Is the conviction worth the risk of wounded or killed officers or innocents? Now let’s switch focus a bit and consider what will be happening with the increase in raids associated with “red flag” laws. We know guns will… Read more »

Chris Mallory

Even more importantly than the risk to officer lives, these Constitutional infringements are not worth the risks to the lives of the citizens targeted. The life of a citizen is more important than the life of a cop.

Xaun Loc

Obviously you aren’t reading Blue Lives Matter — which really ought to call itself Only Blue Lives Matter.

Xaun Loc

And you’re obviously a dirty cop.

Circle8

Law Enforcement agencies recruit from the same pool of applicants as other companies. There are bad apples in every neighborhood and in every town and sometimes these bad apples are hired. Speaking personally please do not condemn entire occupations because of the actions of a few. I am a medically retired Police Officer. I was struck by a “lookie lou” driver at the scene of an accident. Many injured in this way lose one or two legs and some are killed. Since I was built like a tree stump I survived. OK, so much for my history but I wanted… Read more »

Will Flatt

1) Too many bad apples in the profession… WAY too many!! 2) Too many in the profession who “just follow orders” and don’t keep their OATH to the Constitution, and THINK they’re “good cops”. 3) Too many so-called ‘good cops’ who look the other way when it comes to ‘bad cops’, which undermines the truly good cops who hold the profession to the higher standard required of those who uphold the law! 4) The honor of the profession is corroded. If cops want to get respect again (anti-American, law-and-order-hating commietard leftsists notwithstanding), cops will have to take back the profession… Read more »

Xaun Loc

Do you honestly believe that any of the members of that squad didn’t know that Goins was falsifying warrants? Of course they knew, but they figured it was ok to commit perjury to get a warrant so they could arrest the people they “knew” were bad. And, planting evidence was just what they “needed to do” because it was too hard to get real evidence. This kind of rot starts small, with an officer who shapes his testimony in court to get a conviction for a criminal he knows is guilty. But rot ALWAYS grows. First just ‘shaping’ testimony, then… Read more »

Ned2

Execution is too good for these scumbags. They should be made to rot in a high security state pen with the worst society has to offer. For life. For a long agonizing slow death.
Every other cop involved in this should be up on charges too. Send a message.

Xaun Loc

Just put them in general population at the state prison.

Heed the Call-up

Will, which is why the OP stated they should not be protected from the rest of the inmates. He stated execution is too good for them – and I somewhat agree, but still side with immediate execution after trial – when found guilty, as they clearly are.

freewill

It was a no knock warrant..in other words, It was a home invasion, no innocent life shall ever be taken!..so yes, all involved is guilty!

Will Flatt

This is the same government and the same police that will/shall enforce gun control, red flags, TAPS Act precrime, anti-meme social media gun confiscation raids and other blatant violations of our basic rights. The same government that expects us to disarm and simply “trust them”. THIS IS WHY WE HAVE A 2nd AMENDMENT; TO SHOOT BACK AGAINST TYRANTS AND THEIR JACKBOOTED THUGS! Only because Americans made a HUGE stink about this BLATANT act of tyranny and capital murder under color of law, are the authorities taking action to make this mess go away. But they’re not doing it in the… Read more »

Will Flatt

I totally agree. People who draw a government paycheck cannot be trusted PERIOD, and their chipping away at our liberty is THEIR JOB SECURITY.

Deplorable Bill

I have two friends who are cops. I KNOW what it takes to earn a badge and I respect them for the honor they justly deserve. Having said that, I can tell you that I have SEEN fraud, threats, theft, lies, covering up a situation and/or intent on both a federal and state level. Not just heard of it, I have seen it myself. They are only two officers that I can and do trust. I must, because of experience, believe the rest of law enforcement and at least three judges are anything but honorable, righteous or truthful. I am… Read more »

Laddyboy

One more INSULT and you will be barred!

M.I.A.

Please do have him barred.

Heed the Call-up

Will, you are unwilling (no pun intended) to accept the fact there are bad officers. There are too many examples of bad officers for you to believe this cannot be true. Even in my limited experience with LE, I know there are honorable and less than honorable officers. We are all human.

Rattlerjake

There are NO honorable officers! Even the supposedly honorable officers, go with the flow to protect their jobs. If one of those “honorable” officers is ordered to violate the rights of an individual or enforce an unconstitutional/illegal law, they do it because it is their job! Their belief is that the person can fight it in court. I have many friends that were in the military, retired, and went into LE – and when I mention the fact that they violate the rights of civilians EVERYDAY, the same rights they supposedly served in the military to protect, they ALWAYS try… Read more »

ShallNotBeInfringed

In the United States, ALL citizens are due the presumption of innocence before conviction. The language of persons in this thread claiming to be LEO’s shows the OBVIOUS “Us vs. THEM” mentality where the them is EVERYONE else. “Serve & Protect” was NOT meant to be serve the masters (un-elected bureaucrats making tens of thousands of LAWS with which to subjugate the populace), & protect the LEO’s (as long as we all “Go Home Safe”, tell that to the people MURDERED IN THEIR OWN HOMES.) Too long we have stood by for obvious systemic corruption. Good to see some of… Read more »

Rattlerjake

I call the cops NEVER! None of them can be trusted. If you actually think there are good cops and bad cops, you’re a fool — they ALL enforce illegal and unconstitutional laws “because it’s their job”! Any constitutionalist patriot American would refuse to do a job where they are required to violate the rights of the people!

TheRevelator

Yes, because all those sheriffs standing up against state infringements, deputizing citizens, surely they must be bad too.

RJ, there is a reason for Law enforcement to exist. While the egomaniacal bureaucrats power tripping on a tin star seem to out number the good guys, they do exist. Without further Clarification on which laws you feel are unconstitutional, your argument is fairly vacuous. If you instead wanted to make a case for Constitutional law enforcement, such as doing away with unaccountable police departments, the FBI, ect and going to an entirely sheriff based system such an argument may have merit.

Courageous Lion - Hear Me Roar - Jus Meum Tuebor

There is a reason for PEACE officers, not LAW ENFORCEMENT officers. At one time police officers were trained to be PEACE officers. They were even called PEACE officers. That is the difference between then and now. Today they are law ENFORCEMENT officers. Just the title reeks of power and piety. And the type of people who were PEACE officers were a lot different then the type of mentality it takes to be a law ENFORCEMENT officer. That is the major difference. One job actually attracted NORMAL people while the other attracts PSYCHOPATHIC personalities. Just look at how they take care… Read more »

Courageous Lion - Hear Me Roar - Jus Meum Tuebor

The whole good cop/bad cop question can be disposed of much more decisively. We need not enumerate what proportion of cops appears to be good or listen to someone’s anecdote about his Uncle Charlie, an allegedly good cop. We need only consider the following: (1) a cop’s job is to enforce the laws, all of them; (2) many of the laws are manifestly unjust, and some are even cruel and wicked; (3) therefore every cop has agreed to act as an enforcer for laws that are manifestly unjust or even cruel and wicked. Therefore there are no good cops. ~Dr.… Read more »

tomcat

It seems suspicious to me that the chief of police is arguing against the district attorney rather than being open to an investigation as to whether or not his drug enforcement unit, or for that matter the whole police department, is on the right side of the law. Maybe the investigation needs to be widened to include the whole department rather than putting a bulls eye on two wrong doers. Lets face it, would most people put their life in danger for a false flag or an illegal search. Sounds like a bunch of rambos.

Jeffersonian

Never trust a cop of any kind.

How long until this happens to any of us? Because we’re “stockpiling weapons and ammunition” or “reading extremist material online”?

And the wind-up mannequins on TV will tell the EBT-swipers whatever their teleprompters tell them to say….

Rattlerjake

Let’s not forget that government agencies have many resources that allow them to target people, like most of the commenters on here. Everyone who has made a negative statement about LE is a possible target. And guys like will (the shill) will be entrusted to take down your door, because he has no understanding of right and wrong, and will do ANYTHING his handlers tell him!

cav2108

If 99% of HPD are so swell, it is just a coincidence that all ten members of this hit squad were not part of the 99%, eh? I hope you aren’t trying to include Acevedo in that 99%. These guys are just a gang in uniforms. No different from any other criminal gang, and all are more than willing to cover up whatever they need to in order to protect their “brother” gang members.

Xaun Loc

No, Will, Cav isn’t the idiot here. You are the idiot claiming that everyone else was completely in the dark about Goins. They might not have known that he specifically lied on that one affidavit for that one warrant and that he was carrying evidence to plant if they didn’t find any real evidence, but you you really believe these officers worked together as closely as any narcotics squad does without knowing that Goins regularly did exactly that?? They might not have known that the liar faked everything about the probable cause in his affidavit to get the warrant but… Read more »

Tionico

I hope it comes out in the pending trials of various sorts how many of his team mates on this narc squad KNEW of this cute little bag of tricks he kept in the trunk of his patrol car…. if ANY of the others knew about that stash, they are every bit as dirty as is GOines for having/using it. If anyone else knew about it, no one said a word, else that raid never would have been approved. And I’ve a hard time believing that NONE of his fellow team members had any clue about that bag of tricks.… Read more »

CaptainKerosene

A substantial percentage of search warrants are served at the wrong address. A typo or even a colorblind officer going to the pink house. Getting an address wrong or the color of the buildings does happen. An innocent person does not expect the police coming in killing dogs, They respond to a criminal home invasion. The police then fire back. But the police are the aggressor and not legally allowed to use deadly force. Yep, more red flag warrants based on a charge from a neighbor dispute or even a prank. Any such complaint must have criminal penalties for making… Read more »

Warlok11

The Houston PD’s union president went on national t.v. expressing his views on “scumbag criminals” , does that also apply to “scumbag cops” that murder citizens in their homes. The surefire way to limit police brutality, is to make police unions pay 1/3 of brutality civil case awards. When their money gets taken from them, they will then change their policies towards disciplinary actions …

Rattlerjake

Another question is “If convicted, will these two cops lose their pensions and benefits?” I’s an even worse tragedy that tax payers are forced to continue supporting these dirtbags when they have violated their oath of office, violated the rights of citizens (likely many, many times), abused their official position as LEOs, and committed serious crimes which resulted in the death of innocent civilians.

Will Flatt

Sadly in my career I have seen TOO MANY BAD COPS, and it is one of the reasons why when I got hurt I took an immediate disability retirement rather than try to rehab my way back to work. I wouldn’t know where to start with the s#!t I’ve seen and complained about to my bosses, who ALWAYS covered for the bad apples!!

Will Flatt

And who TF are you?? You dont know diddly about me.

Smoke

Nobody actually gives a shit about you. You’re a moron.

Camotim

Of course, the dumb ass liberals will support this black racist who committed the ultimate hate crime.

Xaun Loc

If your “99.9%” really were “hard working cops who take pride in their performance and only want to be a positive influence” then Goins would have been out on his ass years ago. Do you really believe that anyone on his squad didn’t know he was regularly falsifying warrants and planting evidence? Do you really believe that his immediate superior didn’t know? Do you really believe that the other officers who worked with and for him over the years didn’t know? You are right that only a small number of officers are actively dirty — but those handful aren’t the… Read more »

joefoam

So the people who instigated the raid and signed off on it walk away and the lowly officers, no matter how dirty they were, have to take the fall. There’s some justice for you. Hope the family sues the pants off them. Too bad they can’t be held personally responsible as well, might make them think twice the next time.

Xaun Loc

The person who instigated the raid is the former officer who has been (correctly) charged with murder.

The municipal court judge who signed off on the warrant relied on the sworn statement of that officer. There is a good chance that the narcotics squad chose to go to that particular judge because he was known to not ask questions. Unfortunately judge shopping is standard practice with most police departments where everyone knows which judges will sign anything you put in front of them.

Tionico

It does appear that the main suspect in the murder, Goines, was the mastermind/ringleader in this botched schemozzle. About time the pendulum of justice swings bck on him, hard. It would appear “items” from his little stash of junk in the boot of his cop car had already been planted in any number of other cases. Glad to know EVERY ONE of his cases will be examined. I hope a number of innocents falsely accused by this dirty copper get released, and compensated for their troubles inflicted upon them by this lying scumbag. I would not even cry if a… Read more »

gregs

that is why I would like no law enforcement official have qualified immunity. if they screw up they should be held to the same rules as we are. they routinely violate peoples civil rights with bogus smell of marijuana and dog alerting on vehicle, suspicion of a crime and can’t tell you the crime. I don’t dislike or hate cops, but I don’t trust them either

Phil in TX

HPD stinks to high heaven. At least Squad 15 is polluting the department.

Phil in TX

Bubb

Another article where I missed the author’s name in the header. I was less than half way thru when I knew it was a Weingarten article. Another home run for your reporting. Thanks for being so meticulous about the details. Every reader is better informed because of it.

Ej harbet

If you like his writing go hunt down lock n load radio and listen because mr weingarten doe 2 hours a week as bill fradys guest. Informative and entertaining

MB

This is Texas, Texas executes more felons than all other states combined. Felony homicide x2 will most likely come with automatic death penalty. I wonder how many innocent lives were ruined by a POS corrupt cop. Most cops in Texas and around the country are hard working good people doing a tough job, then this a$$hole has the make it hard for them.

Ej harbet

Shortly after that raid i remember chief alcevedo ranting about civilian gun owners shooting his cops up.
I’d toss everything that smelled like a dirty cop into the genpop of the most violent texas prison wearing police t shirts and one pair of pajama shorts.

RoyD

See this? This is my shocked face! Shocked, I tell you!

Steven

Good, attention Dan Crenshaw

Will Flatt

Crenshaw is part of the problem; he thinks the government should have even more power and less accountability and doesn’t care that the things he supports would be massively abused from day one. He would probably applaud every death resulting from red flags and TAPS Act precrime gun confiscation raids, and claim that the people killed deserve to die because they’re “dangerous” and “a threat to society”. He’s a RINO traitor to the Constitution!

MICHAEL J

If crooked police can bypass due process, these perps have essentially created their own version of a red flag law.

The other Jim

I couldn’t understand Rubin Perez. Could someone in Left Wing Corrupt Houston tell me what he was saying?

KCsmith

Assume every cop you meet is dirty.
You’ll be right most of the time.

Xaun Loc

Most officers aren’t “dirty” themselves, but most will willingly turn a blind eye and many will commit perjury to protect those who are.

Heed the Call-up

Will, you want proof? Read the news.

Will Flatt

No, you shut up. You’re going to get banned. Everyone downvotes your BS comments and you start arguments and use unacceptable language. Nobody here likes you, do yourself a favor and just GO AWAY.

Will Flatt

That makes them just as bad as the bad cops they protect and/or ignore.

Courageous Lion - Hear Me Roar - Jus Meum Tuebor

Seems to me there are 8 missing indictments. The whole SQUAD should be charged with murder or accessory to murder. PERIOD. These armed badged thugs need to be treated with utter contempt.

CCWMan

Have you seen these Mens Tactical Slacks for $22 bucks?
https://lapolicegear.com/lapg-pt-shadow-ops-pant.html

Will Flatt

So what?? and what does that have to do with police misconduct??